Monday, 25 July 2011

So,who DOES care???

As i wrote in my last post i had the camera up my nose to check vocal chords.and it bloody hurt.you talk about speedy gonzales,lol.it was shoved up before i could say,will it hu........yep.he looked,said oh. have you been on antibiotics lately??Yes says i.about 10 lots in the last year,keep getting chest infections,why?well,you have got mushrooms growing!!! hey??? thinking of pick your own,lol. apparently i have Thrush growing on my vocal chords.those damn antibiots kill all the good bacteria as well as the bad,result,fungal infection,AKA Thrush.so he said i will write a prescription,go to Pharmacy.now i know the pharmacy. you abandon all hope going there. sure enough it took 45 minutes before i had the tablets.guess?yep,more antibiotics to fight the infection caused by antibiotics. got to go back in 4 weeks time so he can check if it has cleared,and so he can see the vocal chords properly.i didnt get home til 6.my mate took me from his,but next time is later so i will drive myself.oh the joy.a sore nose and nothing to show for it.Now,as well as MS many of you are aware i also suffer from back trouble,one disc was removed many years ago,and another has burst,thanks to the dear old lady on a mobility scooter who forced me to slip off the pavement kerb 2 years ago.now that disc is really giving me problems,so much so a few weeks ago i went and saw Dr.M,who took one look at me hobbling in with my walking stick,and said,back or MS?back i said.all i did was bend froward to get something out of a cupboard,didnt even go right down,just bent forward.and it went out.and for 3 weeks i was in agony,and nothing eases the pain.no ice,not heat,tablets,nothing helps.he examined me on the couch,said,mort,you really dont have reflexes.lol.i know thanks.and said he would order an MRI scan to be done.the last was 2 years ago.Then i was told i couldnt have an operation on the back due to heart,and being on blood thinners.those have now been finished with long ago,so he wants another scan done to see if an operation to fuse 5 vertebrae is possible,and if it is,will it help?also put me on some new tablets which i had to stop as they made me so sick.did warn me they may. he was right.big time.So,last week i got a letter from Cromer Hospital,an MRI is being done this thursday evening at 5.50PM. strange time but they are so backlogged with scans they are scanning until 10 at night. Now,i used to go to Myras every week,so i know how long it takes to get there,and bearing in mind it is now holiday time and our roads are full,i knew it will take at least nearly 3 hours travel and scan time.a scan can take up to 45 minutes.so i rang Crossroads carers. carers for carers. Carol comes here every wednesday to allow me some time for myself,often i go to bed or go to mates.now,usually in the past,if i had hospital Sue would let me have my wednesday,by putting the appointment down as a "short break at short notice",ensuring i still got some time off.so,imagine my surprise when i rang them,i will ring you back the girl said,well we had to go out later that day,and we got home to find a message on the answer phone.hello morton,its crossroads,carol can do that thursday,BUT,i am afraid you cannot have the wednesday as well.sorry. best we can do.you are only allowed 3 hours a week now. i thought,well at least mum will have company at night while i am out,and i didnt mind too much.nothing planned for the wednesday.but i did feel a bit down,its nice to have that few hours "me"time.Anyway,the next morning i rang them,and got Sue.i told her i was ringing to thank them for getting me cover at night,which i know is always difficult and that i was grateful carol was coming,mum likes her a lot.she said,mort,i so wanted to give you your wednesday as well.i just cant do it im sorry. there is no money available for short breaks at the moment.i asked well,what if i had 2 appointments in 1 week?as sue says,many carers can and do have just that problem. i am not the only carer in ill health.she said,if it is an emergency i will make sure you are looked after,but things are really bad.apparently the whole Swifts,night owls,and relief carer situation is under threat from under funding and the savage cuts that have been forced on the local council by the coalition government.and sue told me i may be better off seeing if i can switch to self funding.not going into all the ins and outs of that here.all i will say is that Sue was really upset she couldnt do more for me,but i was just grateful i had cover.she has always been so good to help in the past i am not complaining about her or her staff.they hate this situation.BUT. as i said,i am not the only carer with ill health. there are many elderly carers,who are caring for middle aged handicapped children,or a senile partner,or even parents,as i care for mum.if the care provision is being cut,and we lose our relief carers,WHO WILL HELP US CARE??Daily it seems as though care home after care home is closing,respite care is being cut,funding is being lost every day. so,just WHO WILL CARE??? not this damn government,or councils.social services have lost huge ammounts off their budgets,money that should be there to help people who need 24 hour care is not available.some can call on other family members,i dont have that to fall back on,i cant rely,nor do i want to have to rely,on neighbours or friends to help me.so,if i did have to have an operation,let us say,on my back,just WHO is going to care for my mum??she gets confused and scared when she has strange carers as it is,if she does not know them she worries.what will happen to her if i cannot carry on??who will look after the many thousands of people just like her?WHO CARES???THE CARE OF THE ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED IN THIS COUNTRY IS NOW A DISGRACE.and it is one that is only going to get worse. so ask yourself this,in maybe 5 years time,if YOU or your loved ones need care,either in their own homes,or in a care home,just WHO will care for them?? I and thousands more like me save this country millions in care costs.but at the end of the day...................JUST WHO CARES????? take care all.

13 comments:

You know I was having this conversation yesterday with a couple, they have a daughter who suffers with seizures and has the mental age of a 10 yr old.

both of them are in ill health she's just had surgery he has cancer so they put the daughter in a residential care facility at...wait for it £1000 a week....she has to cooker own meal/wash her clothes/tidy her room all of which she's barely capable.

It's an absolute disgrace what's going with family care providers, don't they see if they cut back your resources such as they are, they are also not giving you anything to replace it.

Mort my man, Everywhere OUR Governments have squandered money, buying toilet paper for rats, and gold lined buckets for themselves. Then comes the collapse, and WHO gets hit? The ones who paid the taxes in the first place.I hope things get better, surely somewhere UP the Chain, SOMEONE CARES!

As Lyn said it is the same here. We had a very difficult time of it when my parents were ill. Those with money that can afford private care are the fortunate ones, but most do not have that. It is very sad that when cuts are made it takes benefits away from the sick and the elderly. Big cuts are being made here and all around the world it seems. You have more than your share right now and I do hope that somehow things will improve for you. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

I do care, truly. But I think that part of the problem is getting the money to the right people...& getting the right people to determine what needs to go where. Which our country is often lousy at too..not that I am saying it is an easy thing to do.

Well said Mort! And I suspect a universal challenge right now with tightening budgets. Somewhere along the line of funding, programs, etc we all forgot about caring. You can no more throw money at care than you can take it away.

An excellent article Mort. One that I think you should copy and send to everyone possible...the local papers, your MP..The head of the Social Services in your area, and get to the top...Thr Prime Minister and the Queen...In all likelyhood you wont get much response but at least you can have the knowledge that you have alerted everyone possible to the situation...they can't then say they don't know what is going on. It takes courage to do this I know but with all you have done you have proved you certainly have plenty of that my friend.I only wish I stayed near you then I could come and care for you both for a wee while...Meanwhile I can only pray that someone comes along and helps in my place.Much Love Sybil x

Indeed, who looks after those that look after others? I know it is a longstanding grievance you have, and nobody who has any clout really cares. It doesn't win them votes, or kudos. But it is so necessary. Keep on going.

Mort, each day as I grow older,especially in the medical system, I think it is time for me to just never, ever go see another doctor in my life. It is to much of a hassle with insurance that hospitals and doctors won't take. I have never known such a mess as this world is in today.

DEDICATED TO MUM.DIED 22/08/2013

mort,62,in ill health with Secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis,severe spine problems,one disc removed,another burst,osteoporosis,severe Angina after heart attack,2 stents fitted.sadly just lost my 92 year old mother I was carer for,for many years,hence the title of my old blog,Caring and Sharing

thanks to teresa xxx

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